The Royal Wedding had us all enthralled last weekend, although to be honest I missed the live telecast and had to catch up online. What impressed me most was the beautiful #MarkleSparkle, her glowy skin and airy gossamer play of colour that is so elegant and pure. I loved that moment during the ceremony when she snuck a sideways glance at her husband, and the most genuine shy smile broke across her face. That look really sang out to me in more ways than I can imagine, not least of which is how the transparency of it all is so on trend for this season. Though it is rumoured that Meghan Markle wore Dior makeup, I am personally favouring Chanel’s take with the Éclat et Transparence Collection for Cruise 2018.

Eclat et Transparence de Chanel is an airy vision of beauty, just-warmed skin beautifully highlighted with plays of light. To achieve this, Chanel presents us with several wonderful options, all guaranteed to transform us into delectable goddesses from head to toe.

PALETTE ESSENTIELLE ÉTÉ – Éclat Solaire is this season’s must-gave all-over glow compact. Unlike previous iterations of the Palette Essentielle [see here], this season’s Eclat Solaire does not contain a concealer, but instead houses 2 different highlighters – a creamy golden-beige with a strong metallic sheen for the high points of the face, and a slightly translucent shimmering gold for cheeks and eyes – along with a raspberry blush. All the colours apply beautifully on my complexion, and I am so glad Chanel replaced the concealer this time round, taking the problem of a mis-matched concealer out of consideration. I would have liked to see a cream bronzer in the palette actually, rather than 2 highlighters, and fingers-crossed we will see that soon from Chanel!

If you prefer to avoid cream products entirely, there is a lovely Chanel Poudre Lumiere Highlighting Powder in 30 Rosy Gold. This was released in the US last December as a Chanel.com exclusive, but has only just made it’s way to Singapore. It is technically not part of the Eclat et Transparence de Chanel collection, but since it launched side-by-side, I think you need to evaluate all options in tandem. The powder itself bears a simple but elegant wave pattern that seems to shift from different angles. It feels stiffer in the pan than most other Chanel powders, but the pigmentation is spot on such that a sweep of my highlighter brush will give a barely-visible touch to the skin, but a few more sweeps will definitely bring out those cheek bones prominently.

Chanel has been really dazzling me with their range of luxurious body oils lately, and this season for the first time, we are seeing a self-tanning body mist. L’EAU TAN is the Chanel’s first tan-enhancing body product, and bears a light cologne that reminds me of No.5 L’Eau [see here]. It is absorbed right away, leaving no stickiness nor oiliness on the skin, but smoothens and hydrates. The glow it leaves on the skin is very subtle, completely unlike traditional self-tanning lotions. Do not expect the L’Eau Tan to give you that sun-kissed bronzed skin right away, but it does make for a decadent pool-side accessory.

For the eyes, Lucia Pica drapes the lids with shimmering sands and soft translucent fires of the summer sun. CRÉATION EXCLUSIVE ÉCLAT ÉNIGMATIQUE is an eyeshadow quad that bears ripped wave designs similar to the Empreinte du Desert from Summer 2016 [see here] and a red color theme reminiscent of Candeur et Experience from Fall 2016 [see here]. Éclat Enigmatique is its own unique creation though, with each shade bearing some element of fine shimmer, and a satin texture that blends out to a soft translucency. Though 2 of the shades are very close to Candeur et Experience, the latter is of course a matte palette which renders a completely different look on the eyes. The addition of a steely black and icy white gives Éclat Enigmatique greater range.

There are also 3 new Stylo Yeux Waterproof to complement this summer’s eye look, and I have 2 of them – Charme, a reddened brown; and Revelation, a silvered taupe. Both Charme and Revelation reminded me of previous seasons’ Stylo Yeux, so I have provided some comparison swatches for your reference. Perle de Lune is one of my personal favourites and I’m so glad to see Charme is a close (albeit slightly more reddened) dupe. Revelation is a much softer take than either Eros and Terra Rosa, and a very beautiful day-wearable red liner in its own right.

For this eye look, I started by applying the bronze shade from Éclat Enigmatic all over the lid, followed by the steely black on the outer corner. Next, I dabbed some of the red on the middle of the lid, and white on the inner corner. I lined my upper lash line with Stylo Yeux Charme, blending out with more black; and lined lower lash line with Revelation.

The Chanel Le Rouge Crayon de Couleur is my favourite lipcolor formula ever, and I simply can’t get enough of them. This season, there are 4 new shades, and I have swatched 2 of them above. Both shades give that perfect juicy pout, and have a slightly warm undertone that suits the summer sunshine without turning my teeth too yellow. You can wear them full-on, polished and perfected; or blot them down and smudge with a finger for that casual bitten look. I also love layering Ultra Rose over Rose Shocking for an ombre effect.

Here is a full makeup look featuring Eclat Enigmatique on the eyes, Palette Essentielle Ete Eclat Solaire on the cheeks and high points of the face, and Le Rouge Crayon de Couleur Ultra Rose on the lips.

No Chanel makeup collection is ever complete without some fresh Chanel Le Vernis. There are 3 shades this season – LÉGÈRETÉ, an elegant jade green; CHICNESS, chic medium mauve; and HALO, a pale milky pink. Both LÉGÈRETÉ and CHICNESS wore incredibly well, lasting up to 5 days on my nails with just slight signs of tip wear. I struggled a little with brush streaks with HALO as is usually the case with such light colors, although it did even out nicely on its own.

The Chanel Éclat et Transparence Collection is out in stores now, have you seen it yet?

This post featured products that were generously provided for my consideration. Regardless, all opinions expressed here are my own honest, unbiased views.